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Engineering host resistance against parasitic weeds with RNA interference
Author(s) -
Yoder John I,
Gunathilake Pradeepa,
Wu Biao,
Tomilova Natalya,
Tomilov Alexey A
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
pest management science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.296
H-Index - 125
eISSN - 1526-4998
pISSN - 1526-498X
DOI - 10.1002/ps.1696
Subject(s) - rna interference , biology , rna silencing , small hairpin rna , host (biology) , gene , genetics , gene silencing , computational biology , parasite hosting , rna , computer science , world wide web
Host genetic resistance is a key component of integrated pest management. The present authors and others are investigating the use of RNA interference (RNAi) as a genetic tool for engineering host resistance against parasitic weeds. The general approach is to transform a host plant with a plasmid encoding a double stranded hairpin RNA (hpRNA) targeted against one or more vital parasite genes. When the hpRNAs are specifically designed against parasite gene sequences, the hpRNA should have no phenotypic effect on the host. They will, however, have a dramatic effect on the parasites that have taken up the parasite‐specific RNAi from the host via the haustorium. The current status of using RNAi technology for controlling parasitic weeds is reviewed. A key component to success with RNAi technology is identifying the best parasite genes to silence. Some of the criteria for RNAi targets are discussed, the existing status of parasitic plant sequence databases is described and internet access points to the parasite genome data are highlighted. Sequence information obtained from different parasite species can be used to clone the homologous gene from a particular pest or can be directly transformed into crop plants. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry